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HomeMy WebLinkAbout17. 12-522 OCTOBER 23, 2012 12-522 RESOLUTION (CARRIED___7-0____ LOST _______ LAID OVER _______ WITHDRAWN _______) PURPOSE: APPROVE AMBULANCE RATE INCREASES INITIATED BY: FIRE DEPARTMENT WHEREAS, the City of Oshkosh has previously established fees for ambulance service based upon the cost of providing such service; and WHEREAS, it is necessary to adjust the current fee schedule for the Oshkosh Fire Department Services. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Oshkosh that the attached ambulance fee schedule is hereby adopted. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the revised ambulance fee schedule may be adjusted periodically using the cost of living annually established from September of each year. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the revised ambulance fee schedule and revised Supply Item Rate Schedule as set forth in this Resolution shall be effective for services rendered on or after 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 2013. TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Timothy Franz, Fire Chief DATE: October 18, 2012 RE: Proposed Rate Increases for Ambulance Service BACKGROUND This past month I shared with you data from a survey that we did comparing our ambulance service rates with other communities. In anticipation of the 2013 Budget Process, I would like to propose an increase in fees for ambulance transport and services. With a delay of 90 plus days to process and collect the majority of fees billed, I believe we need to implement a new fee schedule by Novl, 2012 in order to realize a full year of the revenue increase in 2012. We can then make revenue projections based on these new fees for the entire 2013 budget year, where the ambulance revenue could have a significant impact on the overall budget picture. Based on various reasons, including switching to a new billing contractor in 2010, we have not raised our rates since 2009. Therefore, the proposed rate increase is both warranted and needed. ANALYSIS The fee increases proposed and anticipated revenue, were developed by our current billing provider, Life Quest Services. The individual fees are listed in the attached table which shows both the current fees and the proposed fees. I have also included the survey data previously provided to the council for comparison, please note again the fees in the survey were based on 2012 rates for those services and communities. Even with the increases proposed, our base rates for the most part will remain below the average of the other providers. I believe the increases we are proposing are adequate for our budgetary needs and expenses, fair for our community, and within the prevailing rates of the area. FINANCIAL IMPACT We are conservatively estimating an increase of$168,000.00 in ambulance fee revenue for 2013 if these fees are implemented. We believe this is a conservative estimate, but chose to do so due to the uncertainty of the current economy and as to ensure the revenue estimates can truly be met. RECCOMENDATION We recommend that ambulance fee changes in the attached table be approved and implemented by November 1, 2012. The increase in ambulance fees is warranted by the increase in cost of delivering service and is within the prevailing fees for services in the region. Please direct any questions on this matter to Chief Franz. Respectfully Submitted, Approved: Timothy R Franz City Manager Fire Chief Mark Rohloff PROPOSED CITY OF OSHKOSH FIRE DEPARTMENT AMBULANCE SERVICE RATES To Be Effective 11-1-12 ITEM ITEM DESCRIPTION CURRENT PROPOSED NO. CHARGE CHARGE 1 BLS Resident 400.00 550.00 2 BLS Non Resident 550.00 650.00 3 ALS Emergency Resident 550.00 650.00 4 ALS Emergency Non-Resident 700.00 750.00 5 ALS Level II Resident 600.00 700.00 6 ALS Level II Non-Resident 750.00 800.00 7 Mileage 15.00/ Mile 15.00/Mile 8 ALS Treat No Transport Resident 250.00 500.00 9 ALS Treat No Transport Non-Res. 250.00 550.00 10 BLS On Scene Care 0 250.00 11 Urgent Care 90.00 90.00 12 Extrication 300.00 300.00 13 Oxygen Administration 50.00 55 11 IV Therapy 50.00 0* 12 EKG 50.00 0* 13 Intubation 50.00 0* 14 Spinal Immobilization 50.00 125.00 1. *Items 11 - 13 would now be include within the base rates. 2. Rate recommendations are based on cost to provide service, national averages and trends. 3. All medications and supplies charged at cost plus a minimum of 100%. • 2012 Rate Survey C a) cti C e cIa -o w -o d > c Cl) E a) c Cl) d co ea D � O -C °, Q � �� motor p � "� ,� -C �n °� 'ten Y fl. g `� .. (;. O o o'a 2 Q Charge Description', BLS-Resident 625.00 550.00 525.00 575.00 647.00 575.00 527.00 450.00 562.50 BLS-Non Resident 725.00 600.00 630.00 675.00 698.00 675.00 527.00 550.00 652.50 ALS-Resident 725.00 600.00 625.00 675.00 782.00 750.00 658.00 550.00 666.50 ALS-Non Resident 825.00 700.00 750.00 775.00 813.00 850.00 658.00 700.00 762.50 ALS2-Resident 775.00 750.00 650.00 725.00 845.00 800.00 731.00 600.00 740.50 ALS2 Non-Resident 875.00 750.00 780.00 825.00 896.00 900.00 731.00 750.00 802.50 Mileage Resident 14.00 15.00 12.00 13.00 15.00 16.00 11.50 15.00 14.50 Mileage Non-Resident 14.50 15.00 12.00 13.75 15.50 16.00 11.50 15.00 14.75 BLS On Scene Care 300.00 - 90.00 180.00 200.00 - 100.00 - 95.00 _ ALS on Scene Care-Res 725.00 - 75.00 721.00 575.00 750.00 658.00 250.00 616.50 ALS on.Scene Gare-Non- Res 825.00 - 150.00 773.00 650.00 50.00 658.00 250.00 654.00